The City Arms — Restaurant in Oxford

I have been a loyal customer at The City Arms for over 5 years. It has always been my go to spot. Whenever someone asks me what my favourite place in town is, I always say City Arms without hesitation. However, something very upsetting happened tonight that I need to share.

I came with my friends just for a quick drink and was carrying a food parcel from another place. As someone who has been in the hospitality industry for over 5 years and currently works as a General Manager at a university, I fully understand and respect that outside food is not allowed to be consumed on the premises. My only plan was to place it aside while we had one drink.

What shocked me was the rude and unprofessional behaviour of a staff member. When he first asked us to take the food outside, we politely agreed and complied. Right after using the toilet and stepping into the garden area without even sitting down, he came up to us again and told us that we were no longer allowed to stay.

I explained that I was about to take the food out and my friends were about to order drinks, but he refused to listen and told all of us to leave. His tone and attitude were very disrespectful.

Even worse, he made indirect racist comments hinting at where we are from in a negative way. He said things like “I know where you came from” and told us we are not allowed to return in the future. These comments were extremely offensive and clearly discriminatory. This kind of behaviour should never be accepted or tolerated.

I strongly ask the management not only to review the security footage of this incident but also to take serious action against this staff member. No one else should be made to feel the way we did tonight.

Despite this experience, I still have a lot of love for City Arms. It remains the best place for me and my friends to chill and enjoy. I do not want to stop coming because of one person who does not represent the values of this great venue. But what happened must be...

I’ve been a loyal customer at City Arms for 17 years. I live nearby, and this pub has always been one of my favorite local spots — until last night, when I had one of the most uncomfortable and disappointing experiences ever. It was my boyfriend’s birthday, and we stopped by City Arms for a quick drink before heading home. My cousin wanted to surprise him with a cake, which she brought to the pub — in a closed box. We had absolutely no intention of opening the cake, singing happy birthday, or causing any disturbance. The plan was always to take the cake back home and celebrate there. However, the security guard — who, by the way, is new and clearly lacks proper training — approached us in an extremely rude and aggressive manner. He demanded that we leave, claiming we needed permission to bring the cake in, even though we weren’t doing anything with it at the venue. His attitude was unacceptable: hostile, disrespectful, and unnecessarily confrontational. We asked to speak with the manager, expecting someone with more experience and common sense. Unfortunately, the manager also failed to handle the situation professionally. Instead of listening to a customer who has supported this pub for nearly two decades, he sided with the aggressive security guard and asked us to finish our drinks and leave. This is not how long-time, respectful patrons should be treated. I’ve never had a problem at City Arms before, but this incident has completely changed my view. The new security staff is rude to everyone, and the management clearly lacks customer service skills and sound judgment. Very disappointed. I won’t...

it's sad, this could have been a favorite place of mine to organise outings. Sadly extremely unhelpful managers has capsized that notion. Me and some friends organised to go down and try the hot wings challenge, eat 20 chicken wings drowned in naga chili sauce to win a £30 bar tab (if you're the fastest to finish that month), and it was all in all a successful afternoon event.

I finished the challenge, snot, tears, sobbing and a throbbing throat in somewhere around 5 minutes. my friend made only 4 wings in before throwing in the towel.

Throughout the process, the manager had been incredibly unattentive to the whole affair. Not to say he should have avoided his own duties to the pub. but if he had atleast set a timer as he said he would, that would be a good start.

he stated that if I was the fastest by the end of the month - I would be entitled to the £30 reward... I visited on 3 different occassions after the end of the month, and asked him about it. the first 2 times, he claimed ignorance to knowing if anyone else finished the challenge in january. The third time, he seemed more than happy to avoid talking to me.

a 4th time I went to visit, this time another manager took my details and promised to contact me after she made inquiries. She never did.

I don't want to go to this pub anymore, it's a shame really. I would have loved the place if not for the sourness that I now associate with it. It honestly feels like I've been...